Indoor Bonsai [Paperback]

Paul Lesniewicz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

"[An] excellent guide."--The New York Times

One of the world's recognized experts on bonsai explains everything the indoor gardener needs to know about cultivating these living works of art. Exquisite color pictures showcase a selection of perfect specimens, beautifully shaped tiny trees as lush and thriving as the ones outdoors. And they'll last through every season and for years to come with this superb advice on choosing a plant or starting from seed; optimum conditions for growth; feeding, watering, and care; handling pests and diseases; and shaping, wiring, and pruning. There's an illustrated list of indoor species (including tropical and subtropical varieties), directions for repotting and root pruning, and invaluable commentary on hydroculture. This is a must-have for all bonsai lovers.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Cassell (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184403349X
• ISBN-13: 978-1844033492
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #304,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative and helpful, April 27, 2001

By 

"bijucu" (freeville, ny United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indoor Bonsai (Paperback)

As a bonsai beginner, I found this book contained very good answers to most of my questions. It is more helpful than my other 3 bonsai books, combined.

The text can be divided into two "sections":

GENERAL INFORMATION: e.g. constant care, repotting and root pruning, shaping, propagation from cuttings, fertilizing, tools you need

SPECIES-SPECIFIC INFORMATION: very clear instructions on how to apply (at what time of the year and with what frequency) the general techniques mentioned above, on the most popular indoor species; for each species there's a picture of a magnificent finished bonsai.

I learned a lot reading about pruning, shaping and growing bonsai over rocks; also air-layering. I didn't find anything about grafting, though. I also appreciated the part about "first steps toward an indoor bonsai": it shows a lot of pictures of plants "before" and "after" a few months of training.

At the end there's a list of "Tropical and subtropical plants suitable for training as indoor bonsai", with a short description of each species and short directions for optimum conditions and care.

To save time, there's also an index of plant names and a general index.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for for indoor Bonsai newcomers., August 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Indoor Bonsai (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for newcomers and pros alike. It encourages one to break with many of the old traditions and grow your Bonsai indoors! It covers all aspects of tropical and sub-tropical tree cultivation and gives hints and tips on every page. Excellent value for money at any price.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ok Beginners book, May 22, 2000

By 

S. Rotvik "S. Rotvik" (Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indoor Bonsai (Paperback)

This is a good general basics book -- it has beautiful color plates and some good diagramming on prunning and training.

I found the index of specific species to be very lacking and there is no "problems" section so if you have a problem that is not pest or disease related -- you can't find answers to pretty common situations(like leaf drop) here.